The Lovereading4Kids comment

Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2014 - Shortlisted for the Leeds Book Awards 2014, 9-11 category Bat and his closest friend, Muka, are catapulted into a new life of unimaginable terror. Now memories of their village world feel so far away. Will the bond between elephant and child remain strong enough to save them?

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The winners of the Leeds Book Awards are chosen by you! Read the books, talk about them with your friends & teachers and decide which one is your favourite. You can vote in your local library or at www.leedsbookawards.co.uk. Voting closes on Friday 25th April and the winners will be announced on Tuesday 20th May.

See below for the entire shortlist.

Synopsis

The Child's Elephant by Rachel Campbell-Johnston

Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2014. 'Throw your heart out in front of you and run to catch it.' That's what the boy's grandmother always said.

When a baby elephant is left orphaned on the African savannah, Bat, a young herdsboy, takes her home and cares for her. But Bat's grandmother knows that Meya cannot stay with them for ever - the call of the wild will always be sounding in her soul. And there are rumours borne on the wind; frightening stories of kidnapping and suffering and war.

A big and important story...that smoulders in the mind long after the final page. -- Annabel PitcherGuardian

About the Author

Rachel Campbell-Johnston is the chief art critic and poetry critic for The Times. She studied English Literature at the University of Edinburgh and has a PhD in modern and contemporary British poetry. Her first book, Mysterious Wisdom: The Life and Work of Samuel Palmer, was published to great acclaim in 2011. Rachel lives in the country with her family and an assortment of animals. The Child's Elephant is her first book for children.